Dog attacked, huge vet bill! Are these emergency vet costs normal?

I'm sorry to hear about your dog. She looks like she is experiencing some swelling in the face and is almost certainly in some pain. I understand that you don't have much money, but she almost certainly requires pain medication, anti-inflammatory medication, and antibiotics. The wounds on the face should be clipped around then cleaned with antiseptic in order to disinfect. Depending on the size of any wounds, they may need to be closed with stitches. Some veterinarians reserve medications and / or funding for situations like these that require need. You may also be eligible to apply for care credit. Here is the website. It allows you to obtain monies for veterinary care and pay it off over long periods of time interest free. https://www.carecredit.com/ Any time there is an attack in the face, I would also have to be concerned about possible trauma to the eye. If he is experiencing any difficulty getting around or looks off balanced in any way, there could be head trauma as well. A vet will be needed to make these determinations. I hope you are able to figure things out.

I would recommend contacting a mobile veterinarian and see if they can come out to your house and work on her there. If she is too difficult to handle, you may need a veterinarian and technicians to safely grab her using restraining techniques / drugs to be able to get her the treatment she needs. You can even feed her treats with sedatives in them to get her. I would see if the mobile veterinarian can come out to start with. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I am sorry to hear that your pet has an injury to his leg and paw. Unfortunately, how to treat injuries like this depends entirely on the extent of the injury itself. This would require a more in depth conversation so that an appropriate wound management plan can be devised for your pet and this is not easy to do at home without any medical treatment (pain mediation, antibiotics if needed, or anti-inflammatories). Not to mention it could be a very painful and prolonged situation for your pet. Generally if there are broken bones then a fixture device such as a splint or cast are best used to help keep the bones stable for long enough (typically 4-6 weeks) until they are healed. However this would require splint/cast changes every 1-2 weeks depending on how fast the pet grows. Also the fracture must not be an open fracture (through the skin). If there are no fractures (sometimes can only be ruled out with an x-ray of the leg), then proper shaving of the hair and cleansing of the external wounds using chlorhexidine solution 3% or iodine (diluted 50:50 with warm water) is needed. The hair itself carries a lot of bacteria so clipping it is essential. Then depending on the extent of the skin damage bandaging this area may be needed and changed every 2-7 days. Then once the wounds are seen to be healing well and the top layer of skin is intact the bandages can finally be removed. As I mentioned before typically if there is extensive damage then your pet should get proper medications to a) prevent infection and b)ease discomfort and pain. I just don't see how any of this can be achieved without getting a professional involved unless you are knowledgeable about managing wounds in pets. I do have a couple of financial resources that you can try if the wounds seem too severe and your pet is in need of professional help and guidance so that this is treated appropriately for your pets overall care and well being. Here they are: www.carecredit.com redrover.org www.youcaring.com GiveForward  God's Creatures Ministry Harley’s Hope Foundation Hopefully some of this will be helpful for you to make the best decision for your pets care.

Poor Paco! He really needs to be examined by a vet to determine the extent of his injuries. The cost really depends on where you live and the treatment needed. You could call some local vets and ask the cost of an examination but treatment will vary depending on what needs to be done. He should be examined by a vet as soon as possible so that treatment can be started.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would need to know a bit more information to really help: did that price include blood work, X-rays of the teeth and extractions? Extracting teeth is a big deal the requires gingival flaps and drilling. It isn't easy and takes a lot of time and patience. I have worked at 3 hospitals, 2 of the 3 a bill of $787 was average to low. The current place I work at doesn't charge enough in my opinion for how time consuming and hard extracting teeth are. We never go over $500 (without blood work and NO X-ray). Blood work is extra $77-$150 based on the pets age. Above prices are in US. I think that your Vet is charging appropriately. Please feel free to take a picture of the invoice or let me know specifics! Have a great day!

It’s difficult to assess wounds from a photograph. Make sure that Izzy is eating, drinking and urinating and defecating normally. Make sure she is acting normally and nonpainful. Keep the wounds clean and dry. You can wash the wounds with warm water with a small amount of dilute betadine solution- about the color of weak tea. Prevent her for licking or chewing the wounds- if necessary she may need an e-collar. If there is a foul odor, excessive discharge, heat, pain or other signs of illness then Izzy really need to see a veterinarian. I hope she heals quickly. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

There is no clear law regarding this issue, it's best to come with an agreement with the owner of the dog that has been injured, if you will not come to an agreement and the owner will decide to sue you, there is no telling how this is going to end and how much you will need to pay.